


Fight For You

by Peppermint_Miraculous (Peppermint_Shamrock)



Series: For You [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Background Flagship, Gen, Identity Reveal, Threats of Violence, specifically ladrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 20:51:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16103570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint_Shamrock/pseuds/Peppermint_Miraculous
Summary: Whether it’s magic or ordinary confirmation bias, Alya had overlooked a lot when it came to Marinette. No amount of mysterious absences, flimsy excuses, or weird behavior had ever gotten Alya to seriously consider that her best friend might be Ladybug.Everything has its limit. Alya could overlook a lot, but some things just can’t be dismissed so easily.Absolutely no one wasthathappy about their crush kissing a superheroine.





	Fight For You

**Author's Note:**

> I'm starting a series dedicated to identity reveals between one of the main heroes and anyone _except_ the other, focusing on the friendship/platonic relationship the parties involved share. The stories won't be connected to each other at all except by that theme, so they can be read completely separately.

As the brains behind the Ladyblog, Alya could safely say she was _the_ most well-informed person on how Ladybug operated, aside from the heroes themselves. Ladybug performing daring rescues of hapless civilians from Akumas? Quite common. Expected, even. Taking time after said rescues to _smooch_ the no-longer-hapless civilian? Considerably less common. In fact, Alya was reasonably certain that that had never happened before. And yet, in plain view of herself and her classmates, just after Ladybug had singlehandedly defeated an Akuma, that was exactly what was happening.

 _Adrien, you lucky bastard_ , was Alya’s first, traitorous thought as she recovered from the shock of seeing her classmate getting kissed by Ladybug. Though it was far from a one-sided thing; Adrien was responding in kind.

Alya’s second, equally traitorous thought was, _Aww, this is actually really cute…_

Her third thought was the first to be something remotely acceptable.

_Oh no, poor Marinette…_

Alya quickly looked around – although she didn’t remove the focus of her phone camera from the couple in front of her, this was top quality _Ladyblog-exclusive_ content that would have the Internet screaming for sure – and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see Marinette around anywhere. Unlike the rest of the class, she must have successfully hidden when the Akuma first showed up. Good. Alya would just have to keep Marinette away from the Internet for a few days and glare at everyone to shut up about it while she was around, and that way Marinette wouldn’t have to deal with the heartbreaking realization that she had significant competition in the city’s superheroine.

In what probably wasn’t as much time as it seemed to Alya, Ladybug pulled away from Adrien, as whoops and cheers rose up from the crowd. Both Ladybug and Adrien turned red, and Ladybug gave him an awkward, but sweet smile as she flew off again.

Everyone immediately swarmed Adrien; whistling, whooping, and shouting congratulations at him. He didn’t really react, just stared after Ladybug with a dreamy smile alongside a deep blush, neither of which disappeared as he was practically led back to the classroom.

Alya brought up the rear, wishing she could indulge in the celebration, but unable to bring herself to betray Marinette like that. She looked every which way, hoping she could somehow head Marinette off, tell her to skip class and stay off the Internet for the day, or something, but she saw no sign of the girl. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Marinette finally stumbled into the classroom.

Hastily, Alya tried to inconspicuously signal her classmates to _shut up now!_ but to little avail. Rose and Mylène caught on, but pretty everyone else kept at it, not even noticing that Marinette had entered the classroom.

“…I mean, we always _knew_ you were popular with girls, but _Ladybug_?! If anyone was out of your league, it’s her, but you got her too. Damn.”

“Yeah…” Adrien said, no less dazed than he was earlier. Alya wondered if he even remembered other words at this point, but she wasn’t going to test the theory, having a more pressing concern. She looked to Marinette, prepared to rush her out of the classroom if need be.

But, to Alya’s immense surprise, Marinette didn’t seem distressed at all. In fact, she seemed as out of it right now as Adrien was. It was as though she hadn’t even heard a word of what was going on around them, and her motions as she took her seat looked seemed more rote than conscious action.

Alya frowned, staring intently at her friend, who was gazing dreamily at Adrien. Which wasn’t all that unusual, although this was a particularly bad case, but considering everything else…

Had Marinette gone into some sort of strange shock? Was she in denial, or locked in her own world to protect her poor heart?

Tentatively, Alya poked her in the arm.

“Hmm?”

“Uh…Marinette, are you…okay?” Alya said in a low, nervous voice.

“Yeah…” she said, sounding remarkably similar to Adrien’s “yeah”s. Alya tilted her head, still uncertain of how to proceed with Marinette. Delicate, she needed to be delicate, but Marinette couldn’t just block out something like this either. She looked around. If she had to break Marinette out of this, it’d likely be upsetting…she couldn’t do that with everyone else around. So, without a second thought, she pulled Marinette out into the hallway.

“You…know what happened? With Adrien and…Ladybug?” Alya said, still speaking quietly despite the empty hallway.

“Yeah…”

Alya frowned. A dreamy, contented sigh was not the appropriate reaction in this situation. She tried again, cringing at what she had to do.

“Ladybug kissed Adrien,” Alya said bluntly, after a brief check to make sure no one else was around.

“Yeah…”

“Adrien kissed back,” Alya clarified. Marinette’s reaction didn’t change, and alarm bells were blaring in Alya’s head. Something was seriously wrong. Absolutely _no one_ was _that_ happy about hearing that they just lost their crush to a superheroine.

 _Unless_ , said the conspiratorial part of Alya’s mind. _Unless they_ are _said superheroine._

No, there was no way. Surely Alya, as invested as she was in finding out everything she could about the superheroes, would _know_ if one of them was her best friend. There was no way she could possibly miss that. Besides, Marinette couldn’t be Ladybug, she was far too clumsy, and absent-minded, and panicky, and…

_And determined. And clever. And creative. And had a chronic inability to refuse help to anyone, whether they asked for it or not, as well as a habit of frequently disappearing with terrible excuses that somehow no one ever pressed her on. And was standing here, acting_ exactly _like Adrien did in the wake of the kiss._

The wild, impossible thoughts bubbled up inside her, and unable to accept it and unable to let it go, Alya couldn’t help but dare say the words that would confirm it:

“ _You_ kissed Adrien.”

“Yeah…”

Alya could’ve screamed. Whether from elation, frustration, or excitement, she couldn’t tell. Her thoughts were barely coherent as she tried to process this development while simultaneously trying to keep from freaking out and from jumping up in down in excitement.

“Ohmygodyou’reLadybugohmygod!”

That, out of everything, finally snapped Marinette out of it.

“What?! No! Don’t be absurd, Alya, I’m not…I could never…” She laughed nervously.

“You are! You are! You got all dazed like that because you’re Ladybug and you kissed Adrien and…”

“No, I didn’t!”

“You did! You just admitted to it!” Alya maybe was jumping up and down at this point, just a little, as she pointed wildly at Marinette.

“Alya, Alya…please calm down, please be quiet!” Marinette said, whipping her head around frantically as she searched for anyone who might overhear. There was no one. “I’m not…I’m not Ladybug! I couldn’t be. Remember? Alix’s birthday, we were all watching her race Kim? I was down there watching the race with you and everyone else when Ladybug showed up. I was right there, remember?”

Alya deflated instantly.

“Oh…oh yeah…you were, weren’t you? The whole class was there…”

“Exactly. So I couldn’t possibly be Ladybug,” Marinette said confidently. “Really, me as Ladybug? I guess that’s not quite as bad as when you thought it was Chloé…”

“No one’s ever going to let me live that down, will they?” Alya huffed. She walked back to class with Marinette, feeling strangely empty, as though her wild emotions were a candle that had been unexpectedly snuffed. She’d gotten so worked up about it, and maybe she hadn’t quite convinced herself that it was true, but…she’d convinced herself enough. Enough to something not to add up right now.

She struggled through it all through class. Yeah, there was the strangeness of Marinette’s behavior concerning Adrien, but it wasn’t that. Well, it was, but that wasn’t the whole story. Marinette always acted strangely when it came to Adrien, Alya was well accustomed to that. No, there was something else, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it…

It was only at the end of the school day did it finally fall into place, and Alya figured out what was bothering her about Marinette’s reasoning.

Alix had been akumatized on her birthday.

But Alix had been in the race when the Akuma, and Ladybug, had shown up.

And if there were two of Alix…

Alya grinned. The theory was back on the table. But she couldn’t confront Marinette just yet. She’d probably just deny it again, come up with some other excuse. No, Alya needed proof, some sort of evidence, not only for herself but for Marinette to admit it.

Now, how to obtain that proof? She could follow Marinette around with a camera, but it would be tricky to remain inconspicuous while doing so. She could try to prevent Marinette from running off during the next Akuma attack, to force her into admitting her secret in order to go save the day. But if Marinette really was Ladybug, then she would likely get furious with Alya for endangering people like that, so even if Alya did get the proof out of that…it wasn’t worth the damage to their friendship, or to innocent people.

A plan came to mind. But she would need a little bit of outside help for at least some of it, so with this in mind, she cornered Max alone after school, asking him for a favor.

He looked up at her warily, adjusting his glasses nervously.

“What…sort of favor, Alya?”

“Do you think you could get me into someone’s school attendance record?”

“Technically speaking, I could…” Max said hesitantly, “but it wouldn’t be very ethical to steal or modify data from the school. What do you intend to do with it?”

“I’ve got a Ladybug suspect,” Alya said cheerfully. “And I want to confirm it by matching Ladybug’s activity with this girl’s attendance record. I’m not gonna change anything, I just want to look at it.”

Max sighed, and pulled out his calculator.

“A single individual learning Ladybug’s identity would more than double the risk to her. With you in particular, it could be up to a 500% increase. It would also increase the risk to you by approximately 70.84%. And those numbers assume that no one besides you, Ladybug, and Chat Noir are consciously aware of your knowledge of her identity – each additional person would have a cumulative multiplicative effect of around 1.42 on those values.”

“However, as I also calculate that the chance of this information dissuading you is 0.114% with an error of plus-or-minus 0.853%, such that it can be considered negligible,” he continued, “I suppose I shouldn’t waste my time trying to convince you to give this up.”

“Sounds about right,” Alya said. “So, are you in?”

“I’m sorry, Alya, but I personally would rather not endanger Ladybug or myself with such knowledge.”

“Then…you could just get me the data for all the girls in the school, then? That way you don’t even have to know who my suspect is, or if I was right or not.”

He still seemed hesitant. Well…there was nothing wrong with a little old-fashioned bribery, was there?

“How about this: if you do this for me, I’ll talk to Nadja Chamack and get you on her show to talk about your work with Markov to a wide audience? And you never know, maybe some more technical minds will see it and you’ll get a snowball of interviews from there,” Alya offered. She had no doubts about her ability to do it, either. Since she was in contact with Nadja from the time she’d been on her show, she could easily email her. And Alya had no doubt that Nadja would find Markov an interesting topic – he was fascinating, after all.

Max appeared to struggle with himself, tempted by the offer, but cognizant of the danger. Finally, he relented.

“Okay. If you get me time on Nadja’s show, I’ll get you the data.”

“Deal!” Alya said, striking a victory pose. “Thanks, Max!”

“This is probably a mistake,” he answered. “But a deal’s a deal.”

After filming a brief video of Markov to send to Nadja, Alya took off, determined to get this rolling as soon as possible. She had an email to send, and then she was going to get a list going of all the times Ladybug was known to be active during school hours, to have ready to compare to once Max got her the data.

Alya was on the hunt now, and she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.

Her efforts paid off in only a couple days. Nadja had responded to her with enthusiasm, indicating that she’d be contacting Max right away. And only a few hours later, Alya had the data she needed, sent from what was clearly a throwaway email.

She could barely sit still, hunched far too close to the screen as she meticulously compared Marinette’s absences with Ladybug’s activity.

The results were damning.

Oh, it wasn’t a one-to-one match up. Marinette had more than a few absences that didn’t match up against any (known) Ladybug activity, mostly in the morning from oversleeping, but what was telling was the other side of it. _Every_ Ladybug sighting during school hours matched one of Marinette’s absences, tardies, or extended “bathroom breaks”.

Every.

Single.

One.

A single discrepancy would’ve been enough to cast doubt on Alya’s theory. But this? This was proof that she was right. She just had to be, there was no way this was a coincidence. Alya jumped up, unable to contain herself as she practically danced around her room.

Marinette was Ladybug.

Her _best friend_ was Ladybug, and Alya was going to confront her for good this time.

If the excitement didn’t kill her first.

God, it all made so much sense! All the disappearances, all the excuses, her strangely opinionated statements on Chat Noir, why she was so opposed to the idea of the heroes being a couple, that whole kissing thing with Adrien the other day, her mysterious ability to set up an interview on a whim, the way she always engaged with the Ladyblog, choosing Alya to be Rena Rouge…

Alya fell back in her chair, overwhelmed as it dawned on her just how much Marinette was always going out of her way for her, without intending for Alya to ever know it was her. Just out of the pure goodness of her heart, Marinette insisted on doing whatever she could to make Alya happier. She knew better than anyone else how much passion Alya put into the Ladyblog, and she chose to reward and encourage that in the best way possible. And she knew – she must have known – just how much it would mean to Alya to be given the chance to be a hero too…

Alya was filled with the overwhelming urge to run out and find Marinette right now, and just hug her and thank her for everything she’d ever done. She grabbed her phone instead, calling up Marinette, prepared to give her heartfelt thanks that way. It was halfway through dialing that Alya realized that was no way to confront her friend over this. She couldn’t just force Marinette to confess to being Ladybug over phone, even if it was to thank her. No, this was something that had to be done in person.

She canceled the call, and texted Marinette instead.

**Hey Marinette! Do you want to come over for a sleepover tonight? My parents and sisters will be out.**

**Sure! I’ll tell my parents. See you then.**

It would be the perfect opportunity. No one else around to overhear, so Marinette could keep her secret from everyone else. And it gave Alya some time to compose herself, and prepare the perfect confrontation. She was going to present the proof so well, Marinette would be impressed and admit to her identity. And then they would hug and Alya would thank her for everything, and then…then Alya would get to be her official sidekick! She could work behind the scenes, covering for her and investigating, and…

She was getting excited again.

And it was frustrating as hell that she couldn’t tell anyone. She couldn’t call up Nino and share her newfound discovery. She couldn’t call Marinette because this was about her. Gah! This would kill her before the night was out…Marinette needed to hurry up and get here!

By the time Marinette finally showed up, Alya had very nearly worn a hole in her floor. Or it least, it felt that way. It was all the worse because she knew she couldn’t just immediately spring on Marinette to reveal what she’d discovered. Not that Marinette would’ve given her the chance to, anyway.

“You had perfect timing,” Marinette greeted her, setting two large bags down on the counter. “I was just getting to the fitting point for this project anyway – here, try this on!” She pulled a mass of pink fabric out of one of the bags, and tossed it at Alya, who caught it easily. She unfolded it.

“You made me a jacket?!” Alya said excitedly.

“I made _us_ ,” Marinette said, grinning as she pulled out another mass of pink fabric from the bag, “ _matching_ jackets!”

Alya bounced in glee.

“You’re the best!”

Marinette gave an adorable smile in response, and ushered Alya to try the jacket on, just as she shrugged out of her own and put on the new, pink one.

“I need to see how it fits, what adjustments I need to make. And if it’s not too much trouble, I need you to mark any spots on mine that I need to adjust. Oh, watch out, there are still some pins.”

“How do you have time for all this?” Alya said in amazement. No, really, how did she have time for projects like this when she was also a student, class president, a babysitter, part-time baker, and on top of it all, a secret superhero?

Marinette, however, ended up keeping Alya occupied and distracted for the rest of the evening, so she never got the chance to ask, or bring up the superhero business at all. The jackets took up most of the time, then the sweets and cookies Marinette had brought in the other bag. And before Alya knew it, it was time for bed.

 _Too late to bring it up now_ , Alya thought ruefully as she watched Marinette yawn. _In the morning. I’ll bring it up in the morning._

The girls prepared for bed. They were going to sleep out in the living room, and set up their blankets and such over the couches. It was not long before they were both fast asleep.

Alya, however, woke up sometime later. It was still quite dark out, and Marinette lay undisturbed, so at first she wasn’t sure what had woken her. Then she heard someone making a soft shushing noise. And it certainly wasn’t Marinette.

 _Intruders_.

Trying to keep her breathing even, like she was still asleep, Alya did her best to inconspicuously survey the room. Not an easy feat while lying down. Still, she could make some guesses. Burglars, most likely, who hadn’t expected anyone to be home.

She heard them lift something heavy, and guessed that it was the TV. Perfect. Even if they had weapons, they wouldn’t be able to do anything while carrying a television. So she jumped up, and demanded to know who they were and what they were doing in her apartment.

One of the men swore, his grip slipping on the television. For a moment, Alya felt smug, satisfied that she’d scared them.

Until something pressed to her throat. She went rigid as she realized her mistake.

There was a third burglar. And he had a knife.

“Quiet, girl, and it’ll be like we were never here, understand?”

Alya gave as short of a nod as she dared, swallowing uncomfortably with the awareness of the blade at her throat. She couldn’t reach her phone, and she didn’t think it would end well if she tried.

Marinette was still asleep. Alya wasn’t sure whether to be comforted by that or not. On the one hand, as long as she stayed asleep, she wasn’t in any danger, and she wouldn’t have to see Alya like this. She’d never have to know, unless she noticed the missing valuables in the morning.

On the other…what were a couple of burglars against Ladybug?

But now, in the dead of night, helpless as she was held at knifepoint…Alya started to have doubts. What if she was wrong? What if it was all a coincidence? What if the burglars decided to attack them both anyway? What if Ladybug couldn’t save her? What if she didn’t know Alya needed to be saved?

The other two burglars carried the TV out, and Alya could only watch.

But at that moment, something changed. The knife fell away from her throat, the hands released her arms, and Alya twisted away in an instant, whirling around to see Marinette grappling with the burglar.

No. Not Marinette.

Ladybug.

Though the girl in front of her was still in pajamas and not in a spotted bodysuit, all of Alya’s doubts vanished in that moment. Even if she didn’t have the schedule, even if she didn’t have all the other evidence…Alya was convinced that this alone would’ve incontrovertibly convinced her that Ladybug was none other than her own best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Because there was no mistaking that determination, that absolute focus and skill as she brought the man into a tight hold. The expression on her face as she brought him down was so _Ladybug_ that Alya could almost see a mask there along with it.

She wondered when Marinette had woken up. Had she been asleep up until a few moments ago? Or had she woken up when Alya had, and had the sense to wait longer for the right moment to strike? Was she even aware of where she really was, or had her brain just told her there was danger and she’d immediately gone into battle bug mode? Perhaps she was half-asleep still, and fighting an Akuma in her dreams instead of some lowly thief.

Alya shook herself from her questions. There would be time for those later. She darted around for her phone, grasping it and dialing the police with all the speed she could muster.

Marinette kept the burglar pinned down the entire time they waited for the police to show up. She did not release him until two officers grabbed him and ushered her off. She immediately came to stand by Alya, certainly fully awake now, though she had yet to say a word.

One of the officers asked the two of them questions. Alya did her best to answer, explaining that her parents and sisters were away and that they’d had a sleepover. No, they didn’t know how the burglars got in. No, they hadn’t gotten a good look at the other two, it was dark. Etc., etc. Standard stuff. Marinette brought up the knife.

The officer’s radio crackled, and delivered the bad news. The other two robbers had gotten away. They’d taken off as soon as they saw the police coming, and though there’d been pursuit, they’d evaded capture. Fortunately, they’d abandoned their haul, and the officers helped bring everything back in. A little worse for wear, but intact.

Marinette was chastised for doing something as dangerous as taking on the burglar like she did. Alya felt a little guilty, because if anyone had done something dangerous, it was her, not Marinette. Marinette was quite qualified for taking down bad guys, thank you very much. Not that she could explain that to the police.

They left, and Alya and Marinette sank down onto the couch.

“Well, that was an adventure!” Alya said.

“Not my idea of a sleepover,” Marinette agreed. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get back to sleep at all after that.”

“Me neither,” Alya said. She was far too worked up. Now was the perfect time. She turned to face Marinette, and grinned. Marinette looked at her quizzically.

“So,” Alya said, her voice light and teasing and smug, “still want to tell me you’re not Ladybug?”

Marinette stiffened.

“Alya…” she began warily, but Alya cut her off.

“And don’t try to tell me about the race again. I know there were two of Alix, there could’ve easily been two of you. And look at _this_.” Alya dragged Marinette over to the computer, and pulled up her proud efforts. “Your absence record, against Ladybug appearances. Completely checks out! And the way you just took that guy out, and all your excuses all the time, and that whole thing with Adrien, and everything! More than enough proof. It’s you! It’s been you this entire time!” Alya finished proudly.

Marinette was not impressed like Alya had hoped.

Her mouth was pressed into a tight frown, and her eyes wouldn’t meet Alya’s as they darted around the room as though looking for an escape. At her side, Marinette’s hands trembled slightly, and eventually, she ducked her head, looking at her feet.

“There’s nothing I can do to convince you otherwise, is there?” Marinette said quietly, her voice shaking with the same slight tremble in her hands. She took a deep breath, and her voice came out steadier, but no louder. “I suppose there’s no use in denying it, then…Tikki, come on out.”

A small red figure emerged from Marinette’s belongings, zipping over and settling against Marinette in comfort as it turned its eyes on Alya.

“I knew it I knew it I knew it!” Alya all but shouted, bouncing on her toes again. “Oh, I have so many things to ask…”

Both Marinette and the kwami shushed her.

“You. Cannot. Tell. Anyone,” Marinette said, voice tight as she barely moved her lips.

“I won’t, I won’t!”

“Alya, I trust you, but you _have_ to understand this. You have to understand how dangerous this is. Dangerous for me, dangerous for you, dangerous for my parents, dangerous for our friends, dangerous for everyone!” Marinette said, fixing Alya with an intense, pleading stare. “I know you aren’t taking this as seriously as you should. If you were, you wouldn’t have been looking in the first place.”

“I’m sorry, Marinette…but you know how cool this is for me, right? Knowing that you’re running around, fighting bad guys, protecting everyone! There’s nothing in the world that could take you down!”

“Alya,” the kwami spoke for the first time, “Marinette is only trying to keep you safe. You understand what could happen if Lady Wifi returned after this?”

Alya immediately sobered.

“Yeah…yeah…I guess that…that would be bad…”

But Ladybug could handle it, right? She could handle anything.

Well…maybe not everything, Alya realized, as she thought about all of Marinette’s misadventures. It was hard to reconcile that with her image of Ladybug, but…maybe it was kind of unreasonable to expect a girl her age to be as invincible as she’d always pictured Ladybug.

“You have to be really careful,” Marinette said, twisting her fingers nervously. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to put me at risk on purpose, but…”

“I know,” Alya said, “but you’re really cool, you know that, right?”

Finally, Marinette smiled, even if only a little.

“Of course I know I’m cool,” she said.

They went back to sit on the couch, and though Alya had deflated a bit, she was still itching to ask questions.

“I need to know _everything_ , from the beginning,” she said. “How did you get your earrings? Were they an heirloom, passed down from ancient times? Have there been other Ladybugs in your family? Or did a trail of ladybugs lead you to its’ long-lost hiding place? Or did they come to you in a dream? Or…”

“Off the record, okay?” Marinette said, cutting off Alya’s ramble. Alya nodded eagerly. Marinette sighed. “It’s really not that exciting. The earrings were just there on my desk waiting for me after Ivan got akumatized the first time. I opened the box, and Tikki showed up.”

“Oooh,” Alya said, leaning forward with interest. Her reporter instincts itched in her to write everything down or record it, but she knew why she couldn’t. “Then what? What made the timid girl I met that day decide to put on the earrings and become a champion of justice? Or was even becoming a superhero a “couldn’t say no” situation?” she finished teasingly.

“Would you believe me,” Marinette said softly, “if I said it was because of you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I transformed by accident that first time, and all I wanted to do was get back into my normal clothes…but then I saw you. On the television, following Stoneheart on a bike. And all I could think about was how much danger you were in. And the next day, the next day, I…” Marinette hesitated, and Alya hung on every word. “I tried to pass it off to you, you know. I’d failed, I didn’t capture the Akuma. I thought I couldn’t do it, couldn’t be Ladybug. So I slipped the earrings in your bag when you weren’t looking. But then you ran off without it. I chased after you, trying to give it back, but you got trapped…and I just couldn’t stand by when you were in danger like that.”

She fell silent. Alya surged forward and finally gave Marinette that hug.

“Oh, Marinette,” she said, voice thick with emotion. “You’re the most amazing friend I could ever ask for.” Marinette returned the hug.

“And she became an amazing Ladybug, too,” the kwami – Tikki, Marinette had said – cut in. Alya nodded enthusiastically. It was true.

“Well, I have you and Chat Noir to thank for that, too,” Marinette responded. The kwami smiled at that. Marinette’s expression, however, rapidly changed. “Oh no! Chat Noir! What do I tell him?”

“What do you mean?” Alya asked.

“I’ll have to tell him that my identity’s been compromised,” Marinette said. “I was careless and let him down…”

“Or maybe I’m just that clever,” Alya said, pouting.

“Okay, fine, you were clever,” Marinette conceded. “But still…”

“I’m sure Chat Noir will understand, Marinette, don’t worry,” Tikki said. “It’ll be good to tell him so that he knows that the two of you need to protect Alya over other civilians.”

“You’re right, Tikki,” Marinette said. “But I hate the thought of him being disappointed that he wasn’t the first to know.”

“That’s not your responsibility,” Tikki said. “It was an accident; he should trust you enough to know you wouldn’t have compromised your identity on purpose.”

“I know,” Marinette said, although she didn’t sound reassured. Alya frowned, as a new thought occurred to her.

“I just realized that I have competition as your designated best friend,” she said. She quickly came to a decision. “I think I need to fight him for it.”

“No, you will not,” Marinette said firmly. “You can both be my best friend. And if the next time I pull you in as Rena Rouge, you end up arm wrestling my cat or something, I will…not bring you any cookies for a month!”

Alya mock-gasped.

“So cruel!”

Alya continued peppering Marinette with questions about being Ladybug, when it occurred to her – the question that she _really_ wanted to ask. The one that had started this whole thing, after all.

“So…” Alya said, drawing out the word with a sly grin on her face, “you finally made your move on Adrien, huh?”

Marinette groaned.

“I know, I know, it was stupid of me to do that! Tikki already lectured me about it, I know I shouldn’t’ve drawn attention to him like that, and…”

“What? No! I think it’s great!” Alya said. Tikki frowned at her, but Alya pressed on. “If you want to take advantage of your superhero status to sweep your boy off his feet – literally or otherwise – then I am _all_ for it! Whatever works to woo him,” she added, winking, “I say go for it and Get. Your. Boy. Besides, this way, you can Spiderman kiss him!”

“Spiderman kiss? What’s that?”

Alya looked at her incredulously.

“You don’t know what a Spiderman kiss is? But it’s _perfect_ for you!”

“You know, as funny as it may seem…I’ve never really been into superhero stuff that much?” Marinette said, shrugging.

Alya shook her head at her friend’s foolishness. After all, if there was anyone for Ladybug to take inspiration from, it was Spiderman. They got around the same way, after all. And the kissing thing…oh, she _needed_ to know about that. ~~And maybe Alya could get a picture of it, too…~~

“Well, we’re fixing that right now,” Alya said. “Movie marathon time! If the TV doesn’t work anymore, we’ll use my laptop.” She jumped up and started scouring the DVD collection for her Spiderman movies.

“Alya, it’s three in the morning.”

“So? We weren’t going to be sleeping, anyway, right?”

Marinette sighed as Alya popped the first movie into the DVD player.

.

.

.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, after the girls had returned to Marinette’s house, that Alya got to actually watch Marinette transform, but it was worth the wait.

“That was so cool! Did I look that cool when I became Rena Rouge? Please, please tell me I did!”

“Um…I guess?” Ladybug said. “I’ll be back in a bit, unless there’s an akuma.”

“You know, if there’s an akuma, I think you’re obligated to give me a free ride to the best view for the Ladyblog,” Alya said. Ladybug raised an eyebrow.

“No, I think I’m obligated to keep you – and any other civilians – _away_ from the akuma,” she said, shaking her head in fond exasperation. Her smile quickly faded, however. “Especially since you know who I am. I’m sorry, Alya, but I’m going to need you to stay away from the battles, at least as a civilian. It’s just too much of a risk.”

“But…”

“Alya, you promised. I’ll give you more interviews and everything if you’re worried about the Ladyblog’s reputation, but I need you to be careful.”

“Okay,” Alya said sullenly. Ladybug gave her a sympathetic and guilty look, but didn’t relent. She soon left, leaving Alya to reflect.

She hadn’t anticipated this, when she’d set out to prove that Marinette was Ladybug. She was expecting fun, and shared secrets, and insider knowledge! And sure, she had some of that, but…she hadn’t expected that she’d have to make sacrifices. To have to live cautiously from now on, vigilantly guarding her words, her person, her actions…

But Marinette had to live like that all the time, didn’t she? And Alya couldn’t put her best friend in danger, even if it cost her so much.

Even if it meant giving up chasing supervillains.

When Marinette had fought the burglar early that morning, Alya had seen the Ladybug in her. When Ladybug returned from her meetup with Chat Noir, Alya saw the Marinette in Ladybug.

“Alya,” she wailed as she flung herself into the room, barely catching Alya’s shoulders as she sunk down to the floor. “I messed up, I really messed up!”

Alya patted her shoulders. It was only weird in how not weird it seemed to be patting Ladybug’s shoulders comfortingly.

“What’s wrong?” Alya asked, pulling her over to sit down on the chaise. “Come on, detransform and talk to me, here. Is this about me knowing?”

“No, he took that really well, actually,” Marinette said, her costume dissolving off her into wisps of light. “He agreed that he’d keep a close watch and keep you safe, and all that.” She waved her arms aimlessly. “But then…but then…!” She groaned loudly.

“But then what?” Alya prompted, patiently.

“Then he started teasing me about Adrien! Saying stuff like,” Marinette deepened her voice to imitate her partner, “’I hear my Lady picked up some eye candy when I wasn’t around,’ and such. And I couldn’t help it, I just went off on him! I started telling him how Adrien was so much more than that, that he was so sweet, and kind, and smart, and funny, and amazing, and…”

“A full round of one of your ‘Adrien rants’, huh?” Alya said, grinning, well accustomed to being on the receiving end of said rants and knowing exactly what they entailed.

“Ugh, yes!” Marinette said, groaning again as she slid her hands across her face. “I got totally carried away, and at the end of it he…he…he just got really quiet and said ‘you really like him, don’t you?’ in a really weird voice and oh god Alya, I’ve really done it now!”

“Marinette, relax!” Tikki cut in. “I don’t think he was upset. In fact, I’m sure that he was happy – I mean, that he wants you to be happy,” she corrected quickly.

“Tikki, he sounded like he was about to cry! How could I do that to him? I knew that Chat Noir liked me, and then I go and ramble about some other boy right to his face? Alya, what do I do?!?”

“Threeway?” Alya suggested. Marinette choked and turned bright red. “Or, you know, if you’re not into that, at least go the open route. You know, take one of ‘em out on Friday, take the other out Saturday, that sort of thing.”

“Alya…no! No,” she sputtered.

“Some of my Ladybugs in the past have taken multiple lovers,” Tikki added helpfully. “It’s not that unusual.”

“Exactly!” Alya said, pleased to have the kwami backing her up. “You’re _Ladybug_ , you could get away with a whole _harem_ of handsome green-eyed blond boys if you wanted to.”

“That’s not…that’s…I don’t have to listen to this,” Marinette said, turning and planting face first into the chaise, as she pulled a pillow over her head and pressed it against her ears.

“I’m just saying, Marinette, you clearly have a type…”

“Lies and slander,” came the muffled response.

Alya just shook her head fondly and patted the top of Marinette’s pillow.

“If you’re really not interested in Chat Noir,” she said, “then you shouldn’t let him get in the way of you and Adrien. I know you think you have to make everyone happy, but that’s impossible. Even for Ladybug.”

“I know, I know,” Marinette said, lifting her head up slightly so that her voice was no longer muffled. “I just hate making anyone sad or disappointed, and especially so…so inconsiderately!”

Tikki fell into a coughing fit. Huh. Alya didn’t realize kwamis could cough.

“He should’ve known what he was getting into,” Alya said, shrugging. “It’s not like you smooching Adrien on live camera was subtle…”

“And who’s fault was the camera?” Marinette said, now raising her head enough to pointedly look at Alya, who was unashamed.

“Hey, do you _know_ how many views that got me? It was _quality_ Ladyblog content! With the added bonus of having a video record of the momentous occasion of you finally making your move.”

Marinette’s only response was to groan.

“And the Adrien fanclub is in an all-out civil war over it, too, it’s hilarious,” Alya continued. “Some of them are _begging_ Papillon to akumatize them so they can ‘get revenge’ or ‘defend Adrien’s honor’.”

M arinette snorted. Alya grinned.

“You know, if one of those girls does get akumatized, you’ve gotta call me in,” she said. “I can’t miss that.”

“Hmm,” Marinette said, considering the question seriously, “having an illusory Adrien for the Akuma to chase _could_ be helpful in a situation like that.”

“Or, an illusion of him _and_ you, something  a bit _steamy_ , so she gets riled up and charges into a trap?” Alya suggested. She was rewarded by Marinette going red again.

“You wouldn’t,” she sputtered. “You…oh my god, Alya… _NO._ ”

“Worried you’d get distracted?” Alya teased. Marinette’s face ended up buried in the chaise again.

“Rena Rouge is officially not invited to dealing with any Akumas objecting to my relationship with Adrien.”

“Aw, Marinette! I’m just joking!”

…Mostly, anyway.

Alya leaned back, smiling contentedly. Even if she had to make sacrifices, she was glad she was in the know, glad she could support ~~and tease~~ Marinette.

For her, it would all be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> I just love the trope of Ladybug rambling about Adrien to Chat Noir and then _drastically_ misinterpreting his reaction. You just know that Adrien is absolutely _giddy_ about this development - he's probably wandering around his room in a daze, occasionally repeating "she really likes me". 
> 
> Plagg, of course, is suffering, because _how_ did the boy not figure that out when she kissed him?


End file.
